FCPA is Everyone’s Business: How it Affects US Companies, US Citizens and US-affiliated companies and foreigners in Iraq

When:

September 12, 10:30 AM to 12 PM

Where:

U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Annex 1, Room 1052

Event Background:

Come join us for a panel discussion on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The US has been investigating and prosecuting more violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) than ever. Certain industries, such as the energy and medical device sectors, have proved to be particularly vulnerable to FCPA investigations, especially in countries like Iraq.  

As a consequence, companies must, of necessity, identify high-risk activities and focus compliance efforts on mitigating potential violations of the FCPA in Iraq.  

Agenda:

10:00 am	Registration and Refreshments
10:30 am	Introductions Opening Remarks by the Senior Commercial Officer Bryan Larson Remarks by Embassy Resident Legal Advisor Marty Woelfle Remarks by NFBC Managing Partner Jorge Restrepo Question and Answer Session
12:00 pm	Adjourn

How to RSVP:

Deadline: No later than 12 Noon on Tue, September 11

RSVP E-mail: Baghdad-OSAC@state.gov

Required for RSVP: Guest Name, Company or Organization name, E-mail

Arrival Instructions: Arrive at main Embassy gate (Blue CAC) no later than 10:00 am in order to check in and go through security. Please make arrangements to be dropped off. No parking is available inside the Embassy. No weapons or electronics.

About the Speakers:

MARTY WOELFLE

Martha (Marty) Woelfle began her career as a prosecutor at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in 1984, where she specialized in cases involving repeat offender residential burglaries.

After three years, Ms. Woelfle moved to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, where she prosecuted environmental crimes. Ms. Woelfle worked on federal environmental crimes cases in Arizona as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and in 1991 moved to the United States Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section in Washington, DC.

Ms. Woelfle worked on several significant cases, including the first ever prosecution of cruise ship personnel for dumping oily waste water into U.S. waters (U.S. v. Nanne Hogendoorn et al., District of Alaska, 2000). Holland America also pled guilty regarding criminal violations of the Clean Water Act, paying $1 million in fines, and $1 million in restitution (U.S. v. Holland America, District of Alaska, 1998). Ms. Woelfle also prosecuted Rhodia, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of French company Rhone Poulenc, for illegal disposal of hazardous phosphorus waste in the District of Montana. Rhodia paid $18 million, the largest ever environmental crimes fine in the history of the state, and paid more than $30 million for site remediation (John Marshall Award).

In 2003, Ms. Woelfle transferred to the Organized Crime & Racketeering Section, where she specialized in Internet and transnational organized crime. Ms. Woelfle was the member of a Department of Justice team that prosecuted former Bank of China managers for fraud, and laundering approximately $485 million through shell corporations in Hong Kong (U.S. v. YU Zhendong et al., U.S. v. XU Chaofan et al., District of Nevada) (Director’s Award).

In 2011, Ms. Woelfle took a sabbatical from prosecution, when she joined the Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, and became a Resident Legal Advisor in the Justice Attaché’s Office in Baghdad, Iraq. Ms. Woelfle’s program is focused on anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing.

JORGE RESTRPEO

Mr. Restrepo is an American practicing attorney and former military officer with international leadership experience gained through managing programs in high-pressure, austere environments, across national, cultural, and organizational boundaries in Iraq, Egypt, the Balkans, Kuwait, Pakistan, Colombia, the UAE and Japan. He is experienced in building rapport with foreign parties, which facilitated and improved interaction and cooperation between US and foreign officials in Iraq, Kuwait, Egypt, Japan, Bosnia and Croatia.

Mr. Restrepo has been practicing in Iraq since 2005. As a result, he has in-depth knowledge of Iraqi government procurement, budgeting, governance, inter-agency relations and contract execution with a focus on capital projects in the multi-billion dollar Iraqi hydrocarbon and aviation sectors.

Mr. Restrepo was instrumental in executing Iraq’s historic commercial aircraft fleet acquisition transactions with Boeing and Bombardier, totaling over $5.8 Billion dollars, in the preparation for the opening of the new state-of-the-art Erbil International Airport and the creation of its international legal and contracts section, and the negotiation and successful execution of the Dnata Handling Agreement with the KRG. He also assisted the Government of Iraq and Iraqi Airways in decreasing aviation insurance premiums through a series of conferences with Lloyds of London in the UK. Mr. Restrepo also participated with the Ministry of Oil in several high profile projects, including negotiations involving an equity JV project with a large UK oil and gas company, importation of controlled items, and others.

Mr. Restrepo is a native English and Spanish-speaker, including technical and business terminology; and also speaks basic conversational French.

He is a member in good standing of the Florida Bar in the United States;

He is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators;

He earned his Juris Doctor Degree from the George Washington University School of

Law in Washington, D.C., and received his Bachelors in International Relations from the Florida International University in Miami, Florida.

Mr. Restrepo founded NEW FRONTIERS in Iraq, and currently advises major US, local and international entities in the private sector on international legal, contractual, and other business matters throughout Iraq.

BRYAN LARSON

Bryan Larson is the Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, where he is responsible for promoting U.S. exports, advocating for American business interests, and assisting the Iraqi Government with creating an environment conducive to international trade. Mr. Larson has regularized an array of CS services for U.S. companies interested in the Iraq market, including due diligence and matchmaking services. The newly revamped CS Iraq website is available at www.export.gov/iraq, and U.S. companies are also encouraged to join our Linkedin group, “Export Iraq – U.S. Commercial Service,” to stay informed of the significant opportunities and challenges this market holds.

During his last assignment as First Secretary for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Mr. Larson led the energy and environment industry team. He is a “founding father” of the U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program (ECP), which has been recognized by the Presidents of the United States and China as our most important vehicle for clean energy cooperation. He also served as the Department of Commerce advisor to the ECP and strategic advisor to the China Greentech Initiative, which publishes “The China Greentech Report.” The report is available for free online at www.china-greentech.com

Prior to Beijing, Mr. Larson served at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Baltimore, where he provided export assistance to companies and county governments. He has also served abroad as a Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassies in Seoul, Korea and Mexico City, Mexico where he worked on a variety of challenging issues, including U.S.-Korea pharmaceutical negotiations, telecommunications liberalization, intellectual property rights protection, data privacy, technology standards, U.S. education promotion, and information technology trade promotion. While in Korea, Mr. Larson was a Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Chung-Ang University, where he taught a course on international negotiations.

Prior to joining the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, Mr. Larson worked in the Department of Commerce as an International Trade Specialist in the Office of Information Technology and the Trade Information Center. Mr. Larson entered U.S. Government service in 1995 as Presidential Management Fellow.

Mr. Larson is a native of Denver, Colorado. He received an MA in International Communication from The American University in Washington, DC, in 1995 and a BA in International Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1991.